Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 8:

In page 42, line 20, after “sale” to insert “or by means of such other document of transfer as may be prescribed”.

The current wording of section 49 does not allow for circumstances where a bill of sale is not produced during the transfer of a ship, nor does it allow for the acceptance of a description of a ship based on a declaration of measurement, as proposed in the case of registration in certain parts of the register. In the case of some smaller ships, for the purposes of registration in certain parts of the register, the owner may have difficulty in producing an actual bill of sale and it is proposed to accept a declaration of ownership. The specific requirements and detail will be set out in the regulations to be made under the Bill.
Amendment No. 8, as drafted, inserts the words "or by means of such other document of transfer as may be prescribed". This means that if a given vessel is below a particular size or if, for some other reason, the owner does not have the bill of sale, the thrust of the amendments allow the Minister to say he will prescribe the details of another document to take the place of the bill of sale. The idea is to ensure everyone who wants to participate in the register will have the ability to do so and will not be prohibited from so doing because of the absence of a bill of sale. The amendment is proposed to recognise the fact that there will be exceptions to the requirement to have a bill of sale. It will allow for the acceptance of alternative documents, for example, a declaration of ownership. The details of such documents will be set out by ministerial regulations.
Amendment No. 13 arises as a consequence of amendment No. 8. To remove any doubt, it confirms that any reference in section 49 to a bill of sale includes a reference to any document of transfer prescribed under section 49(1). If the Minister of the day states an alternative document may be used, amendment No. 13 seeks to ensure the entire section is consistent.
Section 49(2) establishes requirements for a bill of sale which must contain a description of the ship that is consistent with its measurement particulars. This usually involves consistency with the certificate of measurement for the ship. However, it is proposed to allow for declarations of measurement in the case of some smaller ships to be registered in certain parts of the register. This will remove the expense of a formal survey of the measurement of certain smaller ships. As is the case with the bill of sale or a declaration of ownership, the specific detail and requirements will be set out in regulations to be issued by the Department.
Amendment No. 10 amends the wording of section 49(2) to recognise that the description of a ship may, in certain prescribed circumstances, be set out in a declaration of measurement rather than in a certificate of measurement.
Amendments Nos. 9, 11 and 12 are technical in nature. Amendment No. 9 amends section 49(2) to clarify that the requirements in respect of a bill of sale or other document of transfer apply equally to such documents in respect of a share in a ship.

Amendment No. 11 corrects the placing of the last comma on line 24 of subsection (2). Amendment No. 12 corrects the wording on line 26 at the beginning of subsection (3) by replacing the word "therein" with the words "in it" and the word "subsection" with "subsections".